On Monday’s WWE RAW, the first edition of the show of 2015, a “John Cena Appreciation” night, with a sarcastic tone, was promoted throughout the evening by The Authority — Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

As the show went on, it became clear that anyone who was part of Team Cena at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, where The Authority ended up getting fired, was going to be punished and beaten down.

Finally, when the “John Cena Appreciation” main event segment came, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon revealed that Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan, the other members of Team Cena, were all fired.

For complete WWE RAW results, click here.

• DIRECT LINK: Photos From This Weekend — CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner, Hanging With SHAQ At UFC & More!

During this week’s edition of WWE RAW in Corpus Christi, Texas, the first episode of the show in 2015, The Authority made their return and immediately made an impact.

During the beginning of this week’s RAW, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon announce that at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view, there will be a change to the main event. The new main event will now be a triple-threat match, with Brock Lesnar defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena and Seth Rollins.

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 takes place on January 25th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• DIRECT LINK: MORE Photos — CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner, Hanging With SHAQ At UFC & More!

It looks as though there will be a celebration on tonight’s edition of WWE RAW, the first episode of the show of 2015 and the first official show with the return of The Authority — Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

In the following photo from Twitter, you can see balloons hanging above the ring at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, the site of tonight’s show.

https://twitter.com/RickVelazquez96/status/552256731384786944

• DIRECT LINK: MORE Photos — CM Punk & AJ Lee At Dinner, Hanging With SHAQ At UFC & More!

The following are highlights of a new U.K. Sun interview with Stephanie McMahon:

On the WWE Network:“I think the beauty of the WWE Network is that there really is something for everyone. We have the most passionate fans in the world. The Network, as well as all of our programming is designed to give them a creative experience worthy of that passion.”

On her character: “I portray a villain in a storyline, because WWE is a live action adventure soap opera. WWE is entertainment, not reality. I am not the evil authority-abusing character as seen on TV – although maybe some people think I am. As well as being the Chief Brand Officer of WWE. I am a working mom to three daughters, I am a wife and I even have my own workout DVD geared towards women of all fitness levels!”

Check out the complete interview at TheSun.co.uk.

• PHOTOS: CM Punk & AJ Lee Together In Las Vegas This Past Weekend

Where I’m from, local residents occasionally use the phrase “lazy man’s load.” If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it involves straining oneself by carrying multiple bags of groceries from the car in order to save a trip. Based on last night’s episode of Raw, I’m starting to wonder if WWE creative lives in my neighborhood.

As most know by now, the Authority is back in power in the WWE. We all knew they would be back in some shape or form, but most (myself included) did not expect them to be back so soon. So, was bringing the Authority back best for business?

The company appears to be laying the groundwork for a Triple H/Sting match at WrestleMania.

It is hard to deny that Raw has been directionless over the past few weeks. One week we had Daniel Bryan making matches, next fans were subjected to a stupid podium that decided to show up for a week or two, and finally we had Hogan dressed as Santa Claus calling the shots. In short, the shows were all over the place, and for the most part, just plain bad.

That isn’t a knock on the superstars, as they did everything they could to make the shows entertaining. Instead, it’s a knock on creative because they are unable to adapt from their comfort zone. For the past year, nearly every major storyline has focused on the Authority, and it seemed that creative was lost without their tried-and-true conflict creative device.

With that said, I suppose it is necessary to bring the Authority back into power to set up a potential match between Sting and Triple H at WrestleMania. It definitely appears that Sting’s first match in the WWE will be against the Game, so it makes more sense to have Sting deal the final blow to the Authority than to have Triple H request a match to exact revenge even though he’s no longer in power.

It was revealed on the final RAW of 2014 that The Authority is back in control of power in WWE.

This happened when Seth Rollins, with help from Big Show, Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble, held Edge hostage, threatening to Curb Stomp him onto the Money In The Bank briefcase and paralyze him, unless John Cena agree to bring back The Authority.

Eventually, Cena gave in. Rollins tried to attack Edge anyways, but Cena stopped him, only to eat a Knockout Punch from Big Show and a Curb Stomp from Rollins. As Rollins, Show, Mercury and Noble go to leave, out came The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, drinking champagne and celebrating their return to power as the announcers questioned how The Authority being back in power will affect 2015.

The official WWE website has a new poll up for a future episode of the WWE Network original series, “WWE Countdown.” The poll asks for fans to vote on who they feel the “most royal Superstar in history” is.

The options for the poll are as follows:

– “The King of Harts” Owen Hart
– King Booker (Booker T)
– “Macho King” Randy Savage
– Don Muraco (WWE King of the Ring 1985 Tournament winner)
– Jerry “The King” Lawler
– “The King” Harley Race
– Sheamus (WWE King of the Ring 2010 Tournament winner)
– “The King of Kings” Triple H
– Tito Santana (WWE King of the Ring 1989 tournament winner)
– William Regal
– “The Billion Dollar Princess” Stephanie McMahon
– Bret Hart (King of the Ring 1991 and 1993 Tournament winner)
– “King of Wrestling” Jim Duggan
– Bad News Barrett
– King Mabel

You can cast your vote for the poll at WWE.com.

As previously reported, USA Network will feature “WWE Week” this week, with a lot of WWE-related programming.

Below is the advertised programming for this week.

Monday: WWE Raw, The Condemned (starring Steve Austin)

Tuesday: Live Smackdown

Wednesday: Tribute to the Troops

Sunday: Jingle All The Way 2 (starring Larry The Cable Guy and Santino Marella)

Additionally, USA Network announced that WWE Superstars will be interviewed on their daytime programming from Monday through Friday.

The advertising lists Cat Greenleaf will interviewing The Miz, Big Show, Titus O’Neil, Brie Bella, and Stephanie McMahon. Those interviews will air between 11:00 a.m. ET and 3:00 p.m ET.

The following was issued today …

STEPHANIE MCMAHON NAMED EDITORIAL ADVISOR TO SHAPE

PAUL LEVESQUE NAMED EDITORIAL ADVISOR TO MUSCLE & FITNESS

STAMFORD, CONN. AND NEW YORK, December 8, 2014 – WWE® and American Media, Inc. (AMI) announced today that Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer has been appointed Editorial Advisor to Shape magazine and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative has been appointed Editorial Advisor to Muscle & Fitness magazine.

In these roles, McMahon and Levesque will consult with the editorial staff of Shape and Muscle & Fitness, respectively, on print and online content pertaining to health and fitness. Together, they currently appear on the cover of the December/January issue of Muscle & Fitness, sharing an inside look at their fitness routines as well as a sneak peek at exclusive workouts from WWE Power Series: Triple H and WWE’s Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon, available now on DVD at mass market retailers and as a digital download online.

WWE Power Series: Triple H includes a total body workout with exercises designed for the upper and lower body along with cardio and mobility moves to build a strong, ripped and fit body. In WWE Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon, McMahon shares a workout for women of every fitness level, no matter how busy, designed to focus on the upper body, lower body, abs, cardio and flexibility.

“Shape and Muscle & Fitness only work with the most trusted and authoritative experts in the world of health and fitness,” said Shawn Perine, Chief Content Director, Enthusiast Group and Editor in Chief, Muscle & Fitness. “With their vast experience and knowledge, Stephanie and Paul are perfect ambassadors for the global health and fitness movement, and are highly valued partners to our brands. I’m excited to be working with them.”

“It is an honor to join the team at Shape,” said McMahon. “This role provides me with the ability to connect with women from all walks of life and share my passion for fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.”

“My approach to fitness training has evolved since my days as a young athlete, and today, I’m in the best shape of my life,” said Levesque. “I share my knowledge and experience regularly as the executive in charge of WWE Talent and look forward to doing the same for the readers of Muscle & Fitness.”

$9.99 a month.

We’ve heard it to death, but what do we actually get for that ten bucks?

Thus far, we’ve had a couple of cool shows — The Monday Night War and WWE Rivalries series, a couple of decent shows — WWE Countdown and WrestleMania Rewind, the pay-per-view events and NXT programming, as well as access to a bunch of old crap we’ve seen — and for the most part, can still see — 1,000 times on YouTube.

It sounds like a decent amount of programming when you list it out like that, but let’s be honest, the WWE Network isn’t what it could be.

Perfect example, last night’s live broadcast of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast with special guest, WWE Chairman — Vince McMahon.

Now THAT is how you get WWE Network subscriptions.

That was one of the first true examples of “must-see” programming on the WWE Network. Going in, you couldn’t know that ahead of time, although many expected it to be compelling programming, and luckily in this case, that’s exactly what it turned out to be.

Personally speaking, I think WWE should take notice of the feedback to the show, which has been universally positive and enthusiastic in nature, and offer similar content on as a consistent basis as possible.

We hear a lot about production costs and things of that nature making it hard to churn out content on the WWE Network, but for shows like last night’s Austin-McMahon special and the recent “ECW Exposed” specials, all you need is a room, two human beings, a microphone, a camera and some lights.

That can’t be that expensive.

I’m of the opinion that WWE should make the Austin-McMahon live podcast a regular staple on the WWE Network. Once every quarter, the WWE boss man checks in with “The Texas Rattlesnake” for somewhat of a “WWE State of the Union Address” type of deal, but produced and aired in similar fashion to last night’s special.

It’s inexpensive, basic and simple, but most importantly — effective.

If you offer that up every few months when there will no doubt be a plethora of items within the “WWE Universe” world to speak of, I believe fans will come in droves to tune in and make sure they’re watching it live, especially those who watched live — or even after the fact — last night.

Anyone who saw the Austin-McMahon live podcast had to of enjoyed at least some, if not all of it. I’m in the latter category, as I was glued to my monitor for the entire 70 minutes.

I was so into the program, in fact, that I’m not ashamed to admit I literally popped — out-loud — when Austin was telling McMahon that they were being wrapped up off-camera, only for McMahon to inform him that he owns this Network, and it’s going to continue for another ten or 15 minutes.

Anyone who is familiar with Austin’s weekly “Steve Austin Show” podcast at PodcastOne.com is aware of the fact that ole’ “Stone Cold” has some pretty superior skills in the interviewing department.

With that being said, I think it’s safe to assume that Austin doing a similar show to that in which we witnessed with McMahon last night, with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, would be just as intriguing and entertaining.

It’s cheap, it’s simple, it’s effective.

Key word — effective.

You can cut as many “for only $9.99 a month” promos you want. You can offer as many free months as you want. You can give us access to as much old crap you have laying around that you want, but stuff like last night is what is going to up your subscription count.

To date, I’d put last night’s Austin-McMahon show right up there with the Ultimate Warrior documentary as the single most compelling program to air on the WWE Network thus far. Unlike the Warrior documentary, there’s no reason why WWE can’t do something like last night on a consistent basis.

It’s times like last night that makes “the norm” so frustrating. Every once in a while, WWE will prove that “they still got it” (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap) only to turn around the next week and go back to the “same old sh*t” (same old sh*t! same old sh*t! same old sh*t!) and make me as a fan want to chant in their face “you f*cked up! you f*cked up! you f*cked up!”

It’s not rocket science, folks. Last night proved it. You want subscribers? You want the WWE Network to be a success? Start offering content that the people dig instead of lame, B-level “junk” that you have laying around.

“If you build it, they will come.”

Last night, WWE built a foundation and laid out a blueprint on how to make use out of this “over-the-top” digital service. And the fans came (I’ll spare the attempt at spinning that last line into a sexual-related, lame-ass joke).

Ryback wants to be “fed more,” and so do the WWE fans. Give them more stuff like last night’s show, and our collective appetites will be full.

THAT, for $9.99 a month? That’s a steal, my friends. I’ll gladly open up the billfold every 30 days for that type of programming.

Unfortunately, and I hate to be a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy on this one, but I’m afraid we’ll probably go back to our “regularly scheduled (lame) program” from here on out, and have to wait quite a while before we see something as cool as the live broadcast of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast on the WWE Network again.

But hey, that’s just one man’s opinion. What do you think? We’d like to know, and you can let us know by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also follow me on social media for more news and views at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR, and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.

Buy Here From Amazon.com

ENTER THE RING WITH THE OFFICIAL WWE^® FITNESS SERIES FROM LIONSGATE HOME ENTERTAINMENT ON SALE TODAY!

SANTA MONICA, CA and STAMFORD, Conn., – December 2, 2014 –  For the first time, fans will have the opportunity to work out with their favorite WWE Superstars and Divas as Lionsgate Home Entertainment and WWE debut WWE Power Series: Triple H and WWE Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon workout DVDs on sale today!

The WWE Power Series: Triple H and WWE Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon workouts are loaded with routines guaranteed to get any fan into top form. The all-new programs include custom workout capabilities and music only options and are available now on DVD and Digital HD at major retailers nationwide. The DVDs are available for the suggested retail price of $14.98 each.

WWE icons Triple H^® and Stephanie McMahon lead two top-of-the-line workout programs created by world-renowned fitness coach, Joe DeFranco to provide official WWE fitness programs for total body transformation. Filmed at the elite WWE Performance Center, both systems allow fans to complete a full body workout, focusing on upper and lower body, cardio and flexibility from the comfort of their own homes.

Featuring 8-time WWE Champion and 5-time World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, WWE Power Series: Triple H includes a total body workout with exercises designed for the upper and lower body along with cardio and mobility moves to build a strong, ripped and fit body. The DVD will feature a four-week workout calendar that helps users stay on track and achieve results. The WWE Power Series: Triple H features the following regimens:

• Warm-Up (6 minutes): Power up and prepare to sweat with moves like seal jacks and Cossack stretches to prevent injury and improve performance.
• Upper Body 1 (16 minutes): Pound out power circuits of serious strength moves like dumbbell rows and Zot curls that use progressive reps to shed inches and lay down Superstar muscle.
• Upper Body 2 (18 minutes): Develop muscle endurance with functional body weight and dumbbell exercises like high-tension planks and shoulder shockers to build both stamina and mega muscle.
• Lower Body (30 minutes): Experience muscle-mass mania with killer moves like single-leg Romanian dead lifts to improve balance, function and strength with this intense three-set system.
• Muscle-Building Cardio (12 minutes): Give those extra pounds a serious smackdown with four high-octane rounds of this cardio-strength circuit designed to pump the heart, shed fat and carve lean muscle.
• Mobility (14 minutes): Improve flexibility, reduce soreness and recover from workouts faster with DeFranco’s signature Agile 8 series of stretches and mobility drills.

 *Requires a set of light to heavy dumbbells

In WWE Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon, the WWE mogul and mother of three helps viewers achieve the sculpted, sexy physique of the extraordinary WWE Divas. Complete with a four-week workout calendar the system transforms and strengthens your entire body while shedding fat. The WWE Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon features the following workout routines:

• Upper Body (14 minutes): Strut your stuff with this powerful strength circuit that uses bodyweight, dumbbells and progressive reps to sculpt sexy arms, defined shoulders and a gorgeous back.
• Lower Body (15 minutes): Tone, tighten and turn heads with butt-blasting rounds of a super circuit that tackles your trouble zones while increasing muscular strength and endurance.
• Abs/Core (12 minutes): Get tough and get ripped with Tabata-style circuits (4 moves/4 minutes) that challenge core strength and function to trim inches and shred strong, sexy abs.
• Cardio (17 minutes): Incinerate fat and calories with two heart-pumping circuits of fierce calisthenics like mountain climbers and T-plank rotations to improve endurance and drop pounds.
• Flexibility (7 minutes): Improve flexibility, reduce soreness and recover faster with an essential series of yoga poses and mobility moves that help create long, lean and limber muscle.

*Requires a set of light to heavy dumbbells

Reddit user MetsFan4Ever has provided some backstage news from the the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, site of tonight’s WWE RAW:

– As you can expect, the mood backstage today is very tense. Everyone is doing their best to stay away from both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. There was said to be a long “closed door” meeting earlier today with Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie.

Steve Austin Says He’ll Ask McMahon About CM Punk Tonight

– WWE has been working on the first promo video for The Ascension. The vignette is tentatively scheduled to air tonight, but could be held off until after next week’s NXT Takeover special on the WWE Network.. WWE’s production team has been working on it throughout the day, with Kevin Dunn making several tweaks.

The Ascension will reported to have a look similar to popular WWF tag teams of the the 1980s.

– Below is Eden’s latest video blog, which features the NXT Diva showing off her holiday spirit.

– Courtesy of WrestlingDVDNews.com, below is the official cover art for the WWE Survivor Series 2014 DVD and Blu-ray, which features Sting, Triple H, John Cena and Stephanie McMahon.

While it should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody who actually heard the interview, the Colt Cabana “Art of Wrestling” podcast with CM Punk earlier this week has been the talk of the locker room in WWE since it first appeared on the internet.

The general consensus is that virtually everyone within WWE — most notably the talent themselves — thought it was one of the greatest things ever.

It’s widely known within WWE that in certain circles, CM Punk is well-liked, while in others, which is a big much bigger circle, by the way, everyone — fans and detractors of Punk — all thoroughly enjoyed the interview.

The key reason that everyone was in favor of Punk’s appearance on the show was because whether you like him or not, he pointed out — in what is said by many to be in very honest fashion — many issues that the current pool of talent within WWE deal with, and have dealt with, for quite a while. Many are said to be afraid to speak up about many of the issues that Punk touched on, but universally applauded him for having the gull to do so without any fear of repercussions.

The reason of Vince McMahon himself was said to be not as bad as you would think. While McMahon is notorious for “no-selling” issues that do in fact bother him, the general consensus was that while he wasn’t pleased with Punk for many of the comments he made, to say the least, he wasn’t as over-the-top angry or upset as two other key WWE high-ranking executives.

Those executives are none other than Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Triple H was said to be outraged and furious, and according to one person close to the situation, outright said he “wants to kill CM Punk.”

While this is likely a moot point, as Punk himself made it clear during the podcast that he has no desire to return to the world of professional wrestling, much-less WWE, that he is on one of those unofficial “banned for life” lists.

Some people believe that while Vince McMahon is still alive and in complete control of the company, anything is possible in terms of being willing to bring Punk back one day, however, those same people are under the belief that when and if it becomes up to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Punk has no chance whatsoever at stepping foot back onto a WWE television, or non-televised program, for that matter.

Continue reading this story by clicking below to advance to page two …

Nearly ten months after his final appearance for WWE, CM Punk finally addressed the circumstances behind his departure from the sports-entertainment organization in an explosive two-hour interview with Colt Cabana on the Art of Wrestling podcast. On Figure Four Daily on F4WOnline.com on Friday, Bryan Alvarez offered insight on the reaction around WWE to the former Superstar’s controversial remarks (click here to listen).

Even with Punk having a number of detractors in WWE, Alvarez was told that virtually everybody in WWE who listened to the podcast “thought it was awesome.”

Alvarez said, “Now if you know CM Punk, CM Punk is a guy who has his lovers—maybe that’s the wrong word—he has his fans, and he has his detractors. There’s a group of people in WWE who are big fans of CM Punk, and there are people in WWE who just can’t stand the guy. When he left, I heard from people that were like, ‘Thank God this guy has left! He drove us crazy. He was so angry.’ When he did his podcast with Colt Cabana, he admitted that at the end, he was actually sorry for how many times he told people to fuck off. When it happened, I had been told from people that he was so miserable, he was such as a crabby individual, they were glad he was finally gone out of the locker room because they couldn’t handle him anymore. Now with that said, the impression that I got was, even people who did not like CM Punk, even people who really thought he was a miserable guy and were not CM Punk’s fans in the slightest, they were fans of a lot of the stuff that he talked about in the podcast.”

He continued, “It is true, there are a lot of guys in the company who are afraid to speak out, they’re afraid to say anything, they’re afraid to approach management, they’re afraid to ask questions, and CM Punk got a lot of that out in the podcast. And he opened a lot of people’s eyes that didn’t know anything about what goes on internally in WWE. So there were even people that don’t like CM Punk and don’t want him back in the company, who are happy that he did this podcast and said everything that he said.”

Alvarez said Vince McMahon is upset with Punk, but he’s not “fuming.” With the WWE Network airing a live “Stone Cold” Steve Austin podcast with the WWE Chairman and CEO immediately following Raw next Monday, Alvarez was told that it is very unlikely that he will talk about the matter in-depth. If he does, the feeling is that he will offer a “corporate answer.”

Paul “Triple H” Levesque was among those hit the hardest in Punk’s two-hour long speech as The Straight Edge Superstar addressed his issues with the WWE executive throughout the show. During his meeting with Levesque and McMahon that led to his exit from WWE, Punk went off on Levesque for not putting him over in 2011 when he was riding high on the momentum from his infamous “pipe bomb” promo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Upon being told by McMahon that he would be wrestling Levesque in a ‘main event’ at WrestleMania 30, Punk recalled turning to Hunter to say, ‘All due respect, I do not need to wrestle you, you need to wrestle me. I do not want to wrestle you. I seriously resent you for not putting me over three years ago when you should have. That would have been best for business but you had to fucking come in and squash it. And then I had to lose to fucking Truth and Miz. It didn’t make any business sense then, it doesn’t make any business sense now, and I am in a position now where I can tell you that I don’t have to nor do I want to wrestle you at WrestleMania. I don’t care if I was supposed to win.'”

Punk then noted, “Which I was. I didn’t care. I didn’t want to give him the fucking privilege. I said a lot of shit in there. I told them again and Hunter, he was gritting his teeth and I knew… he never liked me. It’s one of those situations where you always hear those stories in the dirt sheets about ‘Hunter says this about Punk’ and all this negative stuff but me and him in a room together? Never any good vibes. Always negative, the way he would always look sideways at me, the way he always treated me.”

According to Alvarez, Levesque is furious with Punk over his remarks. He said he received a text message from a person in WWE reading ‘Triple H wants to kill Punk.'”

Alvarez added that Levesque, as well his wife, Stephanie McMahon, have ‘an abject hatred’ for Punk. He is also considered to be on their no-call list.

WWE officials are also extremely unhappy with Cabana. Cabana, who was being courted by the organization for an announcing role as recently as last year. He is said to be on their “shitlist.”

See GIF of Ryback’s botch dropping CM Punk on concrete

– Scott Hall’s son Cody Hall is planning to move to Japan soon to train at the official New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo.

– Stephanie McMahon noted on Twitter on Thursday that she returned from WWE’s European tour early on Wednesday morning. She tweeted the following about her busy day, including the photo below of her training.

Got in from UK at 2:30AM ET, up at 6:30 to take kids to school, full day at office, put kids to bed,… http://t.co/pOfCMhbwqL

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) November 13, 2014

The following are complete spoiler results of the WWE SmackDown taping from Liverpool, England.

– Chris Jericho opens up the WWE SmackDown taping for this week. He comes out to a huge pop from the Liverpool audience. It’s time for the “Highlight Reel” segment. Jericho’s guests, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, make their way out to the ring. The fans break out in a “Where’s Our Network?!” chant, much like at Monday’s RAW, which was also taped in Liverpool, England. Not a lot of details about what was said, just that this was apparently a really good segment.

– Vince McMahon came out of nowhere and cut a promo at the top of the stage. He came out after some more “Where’s Our Network?!” chants broke out. He insulted the fans in attendance, saying that Liverpool sounds like a “skin disease.” This was apparently a dark segment that won’t air as part of the broadcast this Friday night. For a photo of Vince at the SmackDown taping in Liverpool, click here.

– Bray Wyatt def. Sin Cara in what was basically a brief squash match. Wyatt dominated from bell-to-bell, picking up the win with his “Sister Abigail” finisher for the 1-2-3. After the match, Wyatt cut a promo, which prompted Dean Ambrose to come out. Wyatt fled the scene before Ambrose could get to him. The segment ended with Wyatt at the top of the stage laughing at Ambrose.

– Goldust and Stardust def. Adam Rose and The Bunny in tag-team action. This was said to be a decent match, but mostly a comedy bout. They teased more issues between Rose and The Bunny.

SmackDown spoiler results continued on page two …

– WWE has posted the trailers for the new fitness DVDs featuring Triple H (WWE Power Series: Triple H) and Stephanie McMahon (WWE Fit Series: Stephanie McMahon), which you can check out at WWE.com.

– Adam Rose is featured on this week’s edition of “RAW Fallout,” which you can watch out below.

– Stephanie McMahon linked to the following INC.com video on Twitter where she talks about the McMahon family running a “drama-free business.”

– Nancy Brinker of the Susan G. Komen Foundation posted the following on Twitter, thanking WWE for raising over $1.5 million for the fight against breast cancer.

WOW! TY .@StephMcMahon @WWECommunity for raising over $1.5 million for @SusanGKomen #CourageConquerCure #BreastCancer http://t.co/KCE0AzYoVI

— Nancy G. Brinker (@NancyGBrinker) November 7, 2014

WWE’s Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon recently spoke to Yahoo! Sports about a number of topics including WWE’s updated domestic abuse policy, and the reports that Vince McMahon does not want a Total Divas cast members to hold the Divas Championship.

Several weeks ago, Total Divas cast member Cameron appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast and said:

“The whole thing we have been fighting is being on the show [means] not being able to have a chance at the title.”

Stephanie McMahon denies what Cameron said, noting that there is no policy in place about Total Divas cast members not being able to compete for the Divas Championship.

“Absolutely not. I honestly don’t even know how that rumor got started.”

“There is no policy. I think it would be awesome to have one of the Total Divas as our champion. I think it would drive interest in the storyline. I would never say never.”

Stephanie also said this about WWE’s new domestic violence policy:

“We have a zero tolerance policy for domestic abuse. Upon arrest for such misconduct, our Superstars are immediately suspended and should there be a conviction, that Superstar or Diva would be terminated.”

Regarding WWE’s competition, Stephanie says WWE is “such a unique hybrid” with no other sports or entertainment products that are just like them.

“I think competition is always healthy, but what we look at as competition is everything out there – all entertainment and sports programming because we really are such a unique hybrid – there’s nothing like us in the world. Monday Night Football is a competitor to Monday Night Raw. Yes, I think competition is incredibly healthy, no matter where it comes from… We always try to be strategic in terms of having our best content on when we know the most fans are available to watch (against MNF Halftime).”

The following was issued today …

STEPHANIE MCMAHON SELECTED AS EISENHOWER FELLOW

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 15, 2014 – WWE® Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon has been selected as a 2015 Eisenhower USA Fellow, one of nine U.S. leaders to participate in the prestigious international leadership exchange program for outstanding professionals, the Eisenhower Fellowships announced today.

“We welcome this talented and enthusiastic group of young leaders into the global network of Eisenhower Fellows to build bridges across borders and work together to make the world more peaceful, prosperous and just,” said Chairman of the Board of Trustees, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Retired).

Eisenhower Fellowships exist to inspire leaders around the world to challenge themselves to think beyond their current scope, to engage others, including outside of their current networks and to leverage their own talents to better the world around them. Fellows are selected based on their proven leadership and success in their professional field, their enthusiasm for continued learning, their active engagement in community activities and their potential for advanced leadership and societal impact.

The nine USA Fellows were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants from across the United States. As an Eisenhower Fellow, McMahon will travel to Asia and South America, to gain a deeper understanding of business implications in the region, local societal challenges, and potential partnerships.

“I am honored to have been selected as an Eisenhower Fellow as a part of such an esteemed class of global leaders,” said Stephanie McMahon, Chief Brand Officer, WWE. “I look forward to this transformational experience to gain a deeper understanding of the culture in key growth areas, both from a business and community standpoint; develop relationships with my Fellows as well as key influencers abroad, partner with the Women’s Leadership Program, and use this knowledge to help shape WWE’s global business strategies and continue our mission of putting smiles on people’s faces.”

Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Eisenhower Fellowships, commended McMahon and the entire class of 2015. “In our globalized world, the experience of an Eisenhower Fellowship will allow these men and women to draw from an incredibly rich international network to enhance their impact in their respective regions and professional fields.” Gov. Whitman said.

McMahon joins other notable Fellows in the 2015 class including David Bray, Visiting Associate on Cyber Security and Culture at the University of Oxford, Chief Information Officer for the Federal Communications Commission and Amy Wilkinson, Author with Simon & Shuster and Senior Fellow, Harvard University. Past Fellows have included Adam Grossman, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Brand Development, Boston Red Sox, Anne Gordon, Senior Vice President of Media and Communications, Philadelphia, Eagles, Ines Alberdi, Executive Director, UN Development Fund for Women and Marc Vanheukelen, Chief of Staff, European Commission for International Trade.

Stephanie McMahon was named Chief Brand Officer in December 2013 and is responsible for leading WWE’s efforts to further enhance its global brand reputation among key constituencies including government, media, advertisers, business leaders and investors. Stephanie serves as the company’s brand ambassador and works with WWE’s business units to support key growth initiatives. She is the primary spokesperson for WWE’s CSR initiatives, including Be a STAR, WWE’s anti-bullying program and along with her husband, Paul Levesque, has started and funded a cause for Pediatric brain and spinal cancer called, Connor’s Cure.

Prior to being named Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie was Executive Vice President, Creative and was responsible for overseeing the creative development of all WWE television, pay-per-view programming, print, digital and social media content. Stephanie began her career with WWE in 1998 as an Account Executive for the WWE sales office in New York City, while also developing her television personality on WWE programming. Stephanie’s career growth and development spans over multiple business areas including directing and producing some of WWE’s televised events. She has also managed WWE’s Talent Relations, Talent Brand Management and Live Events businesses.

She is a member of the Board of Directors for both the USO Metropolitan Washington and the digital media company, Tout, Inc. Stephanie has received Fairfield County Business Journal’s 2010 “40 Under 40” award and was recognized as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Cable” by CableFAX magazine for four out of the past five years. In 2013, Stephanie was named to Ad Age’s “40 Under 40” and was also named one of Multichannel News’s “Women to Watch.” In May of 2104, she was named as one of Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News’s “Women in the Game.”

Stephanie is a working mother of three daughters ages 8, 6 and 4.

Former WCW President Eric Bischoff spoke to AlternativeNation.net this week about a number of topics, including David Arquette’s WCW Title win, how Vince Russo analyzes ratings, Triple H’s leadership in WWE, Randy Savage’s fallout with WWE, Global Force Wrestling and more. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

Randy Savage’s Fallout With Vince McMahon:

“I think the general attitudes, and feelings – I don’t want to suggest I know Vince McMahon, because I don’t. I’ve met him, I’ve worked with him, I’ve had some good conversations with him. I have what I think is a pretty good perspective and read on him, but by no means do I really know him or understand him completely, but I think at his core, Vince is a very loyal person. He understands the nature of the business, and the mentality in it. There have been so many times where people who have left, or left under good circumstances, or in many cases have done things that were pretty shitty to him, he’s brought them back, and given them a soft place to land. But, you don’t know that, until you land there (laughs), you don’t know until you come back. For the most part, I think the feeling was that once you leave Vince, and go to the competitor, that you had burned a bridge. I think in retrospect that’s not true, clearly, but at the time I think Randy’s perception was that it was over, it was done, and Vince would never bring him back.”

Similarities between Vince & Stephanie McMahon:

“Vince was very, and probably still is, demanding of Stephanie. I think there’s one thing that I saw in Stephanie that made me think that she probably at some point could be Mini Me (laughs), so to speak, and I don’t mean that derisively, but she has a lot of Vince’s same personality traits and characteristics. She’s super-intense, she has an incredible work ethic, she is very strong willed, and she knows what she wants, and what she likes. I saw that when I watched her produce segments, I saw that when I watched her produce my segments. I watched that when I had her rehearse me over and over and over again, until she heard an inflection exactly the way she wanted to hear that inflection. That part of her personality is very similar to Vince’s, it was very very particular, so I saw indications of that early on, but I didn’t have an occasion to see that same thing out of Triple H, because he was probably 75 percent talent, and 25 percent in the circle so to speak.”

Comparing Hulk Hogan’s nWo Heel Turn To A Potential John Cena Heel Turn:

“You’ve got to put everything in the proper context. There were no NWO shirts for sale before I turned Hulk Hogan heel. One disadvantage I had when I launched Nitro, compared to WWE, is that they had very sophisticated licensing and merchandise, WCW didn’t have any. This is one of the reasons I had to guarantee contracts, because if I didn’t guarantee how much money somebody was going to make, there was no chance in hell they were going to make enough to live off of if it was in part based on licensing and merchandising that didn’t exist. It is what it is, and was what it was, based on what I inherited, when I inherited it. But it was also an advantage, because I didn’t have to risk the same type of financial impact that for example WWE might be analyzing, ‘Okay, what happens if John Cena merchandise goes away?’ I didn’t have that challenge, because I wasn’t making any anyways. I had nowhere to go but up.”

– WWE Diva AJ Lee recently quipped on Twitter that she “doesn’t have friends.” This fact was played up on the WWE App during RAW, with Lee talking about how she’s a loner in the WWE locker room.

“That was a joke, but it’s funny ’cause it’s true,” Lee said to Tom Phillips. “Everyone knows that I don’t exactly have friends in the locker room and maybe that’s because I don’t like to [does mocking voice] talk about shoes, and clothes and boys! But sometimes, you gotta take what you can get.”

– In the following video that was recently added to WWE’s YouTube channel, Stephanie McMahon discusses WWE 2K15, Sting and more.

On this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, there will be a backstage segment involving The Rock, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The segment sees Rock and HHH going back-and-forth over who would win if they wrestled again, including each guy taking shots at the other.

Apparently this was a tease for a potential WrestleMania 31 main event between Rock and Hunter. A match between the two was actually discussed at one point for WrestleMania XXX, but obviously ended up not happening.

During the segment taped for Friday’s SmackDown, The Rock actually brought up the main event of WrestleMania 31 and WWE generally does not tease something that big if it’s not in the plans.

Be A Star Anti-Bullying Program Goes Purple in Support of GLAAD’S Spirit Day

NEW YORK and STAMFORD, Conn., October 7, 2014 – WWE® and The Creative Coalition will support GLAAD’s Spirit Day by “going purple” through their joint Be a STAR (Show Tolerance And Respect) anti-bullying initiative. Support kicked off this morning at a Be a STAR anti-bullying rally in New York and will continue through Spirit Day next Thursday, October 16 with promotion on TheCreativeCoalition.org, WWE.com, WWECommunity.com and on WWE and Be a STAR social media assets, reaching more than 400 million people globally.

As part of The Creative Coalition and WWE’s support for GLAAD, a Be a STAR Alliance Member, the Be a STAR logo was turned purple, a first in the program’s history, and students at the rally were given co-branded t-shirts that encouraged them to “Go Purple” on Spirit Day, show their support for LGBT youth and speak out against bullying. WWE has supported GLAAD’s Spirit Day since 2011.

“No one should be bullied because of who they are,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “GLAAD is proud to stand with WWE in the fight against bullying and in a visible display of support for LGBT youth.”

“Spirit Day is an important time for everyone to stand up against bullying and discrimination,” said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. “WWE is proud to support the LGBT community and GLAAD by spreading the message of respect and inclusion through our global platforms.”

“The Creative Coalition is proud that GLAAD is a member of our Be a STAR Alliance and even more proud to support Spirit Day as an initiative that embodies the tenets of the Be a STAR program,” said CEO of The Creative Coalition Robin Bronk. “We commend GLAAD for Spirit Day and believe it enhances our commitment to utilizing the resources of the arts and entertainment community to increase acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.”

Additionally, WWE and Be a STAR will stand up against bullying and support GLAAD’s Spirit Day by promoting the initiative through homepage takeovers on WWE.com and WWECommunity.com as well as social media support from WWE Superstars and Divas.

Spirit Day was started in 2010 as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Millions wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. With GLAAD’s help, Spirit Day has since garnered widespread support from entertainment organizations, sports leagues, celebrities, TV news and entertainment programs, corporations, schools, local communities, and even national landmarks.

According to GLSEN’s 2011 National School Climate Survey, 63.5% of LGBT students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and 43.9% because of their gender expression. GLSEN also reported that 81.9% of LGBT students report being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation and 63.9% because of their gender expression.